Heating and agitating tank



W. D. CROY AND J. Z. LAWSON. HEATING AND AGITATING TANK. APPLICATION msn 050.28. 1920.

1,41 1,41 7. Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

.35 s. s' 25 95 2,2/51 "Il"Il]Illllllllllllllllllllllllllll f5 30 @philian ffornmx UITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM D. CROY .AND JAMES Z. LAWSON, OF BLEFIELD, WEST VIRGINIA.

HEATING AND AGITATING' TANK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, WILLIAM D. GRoY and JAMnsZ. LAwsoN, citizens of the United States of America, residing at Bluefield, in the county of Mercer and State of West Virginia,U have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heating and Agtating Tanks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to tanks and means for heating the same and for producing agitation in said tanks for various purposes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device which may be used interchangeably as a washing machine and for Various other purposes requiring the combined action of boiling or heated water and agitation. l

With these and other objects in View the device comprises certain novel units, elements, parts, constructions and combinations, as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a View of the tudinal section;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional View;

Figure 3 is a detail fragmentary perspective view of the agitator, and

Figure 4 is a detail fragmentary sectional view showing the preferred corrugated construction.

Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughoutv the several views. y

The improved agitating tank which forms the subject matter of this application comprises sides 10, ends 11 and bottom 12. The bottom 12 and sides 10 are preferably corrugated, as shown in detail at Figure 4, but such corrugation is not essentiail to the present invention.

vThe tank is provided with a heating chamber 13 within which is provided any approved type of heating element, shown conventionally as afluid fuel burner 14 supplied through a pipe 15, but it is to be understood that the present invention is inno way limdevice in longiited to the identical type of burner or heating element. As shown also doors 16 and 17 are provided with a flue 18 for the escape of products of combustion but the arrangement of the doors for the purpose of access of draft will be varied as circumstances may make desirable. The tank is provided with a cover 20, which provides for a reciprocating beater. The beater is mounted upon a bar 2l carrying a beater 22 upon its lower end within the tank. The beater 22 is a plate-like structlure, provided with a plurality of perforations 23 and is further provided with rollers 24 journaled at 25 at the upper edge of said beater so that when this device is employed as a washing machine for instance, the contained clothes will roll from engagement over the upper edge of the beater as the beater is lifted. Any other material upon which the device is employed will operate in like manner and reference to clothes is only for the purpose of illustration.

Any approved type of power plant may be connected with the device for operating its several moving parts. No power plant has been shown but a belt 29 is designated as coming from a source of power and applied to a pulley 30 rigidly journaled upon said tank in any approved manner, as by the .'ournal bracket 31. Appropriate means may e employed for connecting this pulley with the operative parts, as for instance a pitman 32 connected with the lever 33, the latter being pivotally connected at 34 with and to actuate the vertical reciprocating beater.

In use as a washing machine the clothes will be placed in the tank with the necessary detergents, the necessary heat applied thereto by the heating element to raise the temperature ofthe water to such degree as to effectively apply the detergents to the removal of dirt. The operation will preferably bestarted by the use of the beater 22 until the dirt has been removed, whereupon water will be replaced by rinsing water for instance. The invention may be employed for a variety of purposes other than washing clothes, wherein moist heat, steam and agitation, or wherein the production of a considerable volume of steam from the Water is augmented by agitation.

What we claim to beneW is:

5 The combination with a tank of an agitator disposed within lthe tank comprising substantially a vertically disposed plane vmember extending longitudinally of the tank, a roller formed upon the top of the 10 agitator and extending in parallelism with its plane, and'actuating means extending uplWardly from the agitator and Without the WILLIAM D. CROY. JAMES Z. LAWSON. Witnesses L. G. SCOTT, a GEORGE RICHARDSON, Jr. 

